Evening the Score
by sharp2799
Summary: Missing scenes/tag to "Half Wit.” season 3 A one-shot in two parts. House/Cameron
1. Chapter 1

_Was House leaving the hospital for good?_

Unthinkable. He wouldn't leave her—them. Or would he? Cameron brooded as she and Chase wandered through House's apartment looking for clues. Clues were what led her to these desperate measures in the first place. There was a panicked little knot in her stomach and she needed to make it go away.

It had started with opening his mail as usual. Finding a plane ticket to Boson raised alarm bells in her head and she had approached Foreman.

"_Do you have any idea why House would want to go to Boston?"_

_Foreman shrugged. "The chowder?"_

"_Plane tickets, this Friday. I opened his mail." Cameron lowered her voice. "I heard there's an opening at Harvard for division chief, Infectious Disease."_

_Foreman put on his gloves. "Ambition is not one of his more prominent traits." He paused. "Although…"_

"_What?"_

"_He was testing blood in the clinic. Don't think it was the patient's blood."_

_Cameron quipped, "Why? It was green?"_

_Foreman remained serious. "No, he was checking for routine stuff." He waited a beat. "Makes sense if he's checking for basic medical clearance for employment."_

_They exchanged a long look._

And now she was breaking into House's apartment. Persuading Chase to accompany her wasn't hard. Cameron was amused at how nervous Chase was at first but then he suggested having sex in House's bed.

They didn't, of course. Chase was too much of a wuss to actually do the deed there. Cameron, smoothing her hand over the blanket, stared at the bed with a blank expression. _House's body, naked under the sheets, lust in his eyes_…she closed her eyes, imagining it. Wondering how it would feel to have him under her as she rode him hard and fast. Or teasingly slow as his mouth explored hers.

"Hey, we're out of here," called Chase, already walking down the hallway. She straightened and followed him out, her eyes unreadable.

The next step was telling Dr. Cuddy about the plane ticket. She knew that Cuddy would take it from there and call her contacts with the ferociousness of a bulldog, demanding to know how they thought they could steal House away from the hospital without a fight.

Cameron expected Cuddy to let her know the results and was surprised when only a resounding silence met her queries. And was that fear in the older woman's eyes?

The knot in her stomach grew tighter.

Her mouth a thin line, she spotted Dr. Wilson leaving the building and ran after him. "Dr. Wilson. Wilson!"

He kept walking and she sped up, determined. "I just spoke to Cuddy. She can't confirm whether House is applying for a job at Boston."

Wilson winced. "Yeah. I'm late for a..."

Cameron played her trump card. "If I have to look for work, I have a right to know."

Wilson stopped walking and sighed, closing his eyes. He turned to face her, sorrow and pain etched across his face.

And then the idea of House leaving for a job turned horribly into the idea of House dying and being stubborn and stupid about it by hiding it from everyone around him. Cameron huffed at his idiocy but amid the pain and sorrow was something else.

She stared at the keyboard under her fingertips, thinking, _feeling_ the absolute unfairness of it all. And shivered at the idea that she had touched House's bed and thought of his body and how angry she still was at him. Cameron snorted at herself. She was mad at him for something that had happened a year before, something he probably never gave a second's thought to. And that something led her to change, to hide herself and her emotions and have sex with Chase to pass the time. How screwed up was she, anyway? Was there even a way to fix it?

Well, maybe she couldn't fix it, but she wanted retribution. And now there was no time for cowardice.

Cameron nodded at the screen, one short, sharp jerk of determination. She typed the letter neatly, printed it out, and walked into his office.

House sat, working on a piece of wiring. He looked up, taking off his glasses. "PET scan done?"

"No."

"You come for my feelings? 'Cause I left them in my other pants." Inwardly, he sighed, hoping to get past the scene before him as quickly as possible.

"This is a letter of recommendation. I'm applying for a job at Penn." She handed him the letter.

House glanced at it before signing, hiding his shock. "Thank you for writing your own. I'm sure my thoughts are beautifully phrased." He was pleased that his voice remained offhand.

"Thank you for signing it. Saves me having to fake your signature."

House handed it back and watched as she slipped it into an envelope. "Stay away from Weiss. He cries with his patients. Holds their hands as they die. He won't like you."

Cameron tilted her head, her silent "why" visible in the movement.

"Your new-found nonchalance in the face of cancer."

She blinked. "I thought you'd find it appealing."

House leaned back in his chair. "Twenty seconds. Pretty good."

"For what?"

"Time it took you to go from hard-ass to human being." He stood up and limped to her carefully. "You really want to leave?"

"If you're not here, there's not much point of staying."

"I'm not dead yet." He kept eye contact.

Cameron stepped towards him and House stiffened. "What are you doing?" He froze as she came even closer, stunned at what he saw in her eyes, and tried to diffuse what was suddenly out of his control. "I know this must be a turn-on for you—" House stopped, his breath caught in his lungs as she touched his face and brought it closer to hers, brushing her lips over his.

He wanted to protest and then didn't. Her lips were warm and soft and he felt lust stab straight through to his groin. He opened his mouth and slid his tongue to hers as she gripped the back of his neck with one hand and massaged, her tongue weaving with his all the while.

House wanted to lose himself in the experience of being kissed by Allison Cameron. Her mouth, warm and welcome, her hand touching his skin, created an automatic response from his body. He'd have to be dead three times over not to react. But the analytical part of his brain wondered where her other hand was going. It should have been trailing down his body, not her own…and one eye opened to see her hand slip into her lab coat. He reached down and gripped her hand hard, pulling it up with the needle still trapped in her fingers.

"A little whorish to kiss and stab."

"You kissed back." She was breathless but unrepentant.

"I didn't want you to die without knowing the feeling." House yanked the syringe from her hand. "Actually, no woman should die without knowing the feeling."

"All I need is a few drops of your blood."

"Foreman and Chase's lips are not gonna get so close, now that I know your plan."

"There's a nurse downstairs about to risk his job to steal the blood you drew from yourself yesterday."

Anger flooded him. "I'm Patient Number 020406, in the record room, under the name Luke N. Laura! There's a whole file of blood there, along with CT scans, MRIs, CSF, everything you need."

Cameron kept a neutral face. Goading him into giving her the information was risky at best but apparently he missed it as the real manipulation.

She started to leave the office, torn between anger, satisfaction, and a frustrating ache between her thighs when House called after her, "If you need a sperm sample, come back without the needle." She gave him an annoyed look as she exited.

House rubbed his lips, still feeling the softness of her lips and tongue tasting and exploring and inviting him in. He straightened suddenly as Cameron strode back in.

"I have something to say."

He raised an eyebrow, eyeing her defensive stance. "I think your lips said just about everything."

"I was angry, House."

"I thought that was my stage. After denial, of course."

"Shut up." Cameron ran a hand over her hair, smoothing it to the band of her ponytail. She looked ruffled despite her slim neatness. "I wanted to kiss you. The needle? Come on! Did you really think I was going to get a decent draw while we were playing tonsil hockey? That I was going to find the vein with my eyes shut and you were going to hold still for it? Being a prick yourself, you'd notice a little one."

He stared at her in astonishment.

"I was _angry_."

He cleared his throat. "Yeah. Okay. Can we concentrate on the real patient now? Remember him? Piano genius who's also an idiot? Oh wait, I see the confusion now!" He smacked his forehead in mock seriousness.

"Don't you want to know why?"

House rolled his eyes. "Life's unfair, we never had time to make a go of it, orchestral music swells in the background, check. Anything else?"

Cameron smiled slightly. "That's not why." She turned and walked out again, leaving House puzzled and annoyed. He realized that he could still smell her on his clothes, her heat and the musk they had raised between them. Over _one_ kiss. Fuck. He was going to have to jerk off and change. He stood and left his office with a scowl.


	2. Chapter 2

House sat at his piano tinkering with the keys and congratulated himself. He managed to survive both Foreman and Chase's sympathy and then behaved like an unfeeling, opportunistic ass in Cuddy's living room while trying to get her approval for the medical procedure. He wasn't really sorry that she booted him out. He headed back to the hospital for the obligatory chat with the idiot's father to get his consent for the dangerous medical procedure, and then he went home to brood. His carefully laid plans were being fucked over by three subordinates who _finally_ rose to their potential, seeking, searching, and ignoring their boss. He didn't know whether to be pleased or pissed.

He wasn't dying. His grand plan to get admitted into that drug program was to see if he could get a better chemical high to draw away from the pain in his leg. Or just get high. It was an interesting idea. Having the others thinking he was dying made it more complicated but not impossible to carry through. And the patient currently on his plate was still an interesting puzzle but in abeyance at the moment until they could see if the operation worked.

The one thing that really bugged the hell out of him were Cameron's words: _That's not why_.

He had been a little shocked and even nauseous when he realized Cameron and Chase were screwing around. His glib question to them at the start of the case (_"__You two shower together?__"_) had been a cover for the needle-sharp pain that kicked him in the gut.

And Cameron had still kissed him. And she was angry at him. _Him_. His cane thumped rhythmically on the floor, his eyes distant.

The knock on his door, when it came, wasn't a surprise. House knew Cameron well enough to know that she wouldn't leave it alone for too long. And Cameron was smart enough to know he wouldn't come to her, especially since there would be a chance of running into Chase. So of course she would come to his home. He stood and opened the door. She pushed by him.

House leered. "Come back for the sperm sample?"

"Yes."

His jaw dropped and Cameron smiled for a brief moment. Then she straightened her shoulders and waited.

House rapped the wood on the floor once with his cane and looked at her. "All right, I give up. Why did you kiss me?"

Cameron looked at him soberly. "I just…returned the favor." At his blank look, she added, "Last year, when you said you loved me to get me to take the HIV test? You did that right after you slept with Stacy. That was cold, even for you."

"How did you know I—?"

Cameron smiled tiredly. "You just told me." She made an impatient sound in her throat. "It wasn't hard to figure out later, House. But it was pretty cruel to use those words against me. You knew how I felt and you said you loved me just to swab my mouth?! And after you had just come from Stacy's bed." A year later, it still stung. Resolutely, she kept her gaze on him.

"Technically speaking, she was in my bed so—"

"Right. I don't know why I thought you'd even care." She made a scoffing sound and moved as if to leave but he put out his hand, stopping her.

"So kissing me…and the needle?"

Cameron kept her gaze steady. "I wanted to hurt you."

House nodded. "So you're here to apologize. Well, no need, Dr. Cameron, you—"

"I'm here for the sperm sample." she interrupted. She had spent the better part of the year preparing for this moment, never knowing when it would appear, only that it _would_. She had tucked her emotions away deep, even began playing with Chase for practice, and never, _never _scrutinized what she was doing except to ensure she wouldn't be hurt for this. She still wanted him, even if he didn't want her, no matter how hurt or angry he made her. And she wasn't going to waste anymore time.

But when she looked at House again, she saw sadness deep in his eyes. He stood there and made no attempt to brush it off, simply stood there mutely, accepting whatever she decided was fair. Cameron wanted to recoil with shock. Where was the hardness she expected, the steel she had fortified herself against? Did she turn into a cold bitch for _nothing_?

House saw her confusion and shock and touched her mouth with a finger, running it lightly across her lips before slipping inside. She sucked, automatically at first and then stared into his eyes and rolled her tongue around the digit, drawing her teeth along it and sucking strongly.

_She thinks you're dying._ House drew back suddenly in derision. "A pity fuck for the dying cripple?"

Cameron shook her head. "I tried to hurt you, House. Think about that. Even knowing your chances, I wanted to hurt you." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Like you hurt me."

"So the diagnosis just gave you the courage?"

"Yes." She stared at him. "Do I get to see your bed?"

"Didn't you take a long enough look before?" He smirked at her surprise. "I taught you, Cameron. Figured you'd do a B&E although I hope that's all you did." She nodded and he relaxed fractionally. "Be my guest." House waved her in the direction and watched as she slowly walked to his bedroom. He waited a few minutes, rubbing his chin, and wondered how bad this was going to be. He shrugged and followed. At the doorway, he froze, staring into the room. His body revved into high drive and he fought for control.

Cameron stood in front of him, stripped down to bra and panties. They were black lace with white trim and his fingers convulsed on the handle of his cane. He stood up straight, tossed it aside, and stepped into her space.

"How do you think this is going to end, Cameron?"

"Can we not talk about it?" She rubbed against his body lightly, feeling her nipples tighten.

"That works for me." House palmed her between her legs, feeling the wetness amid the lace as she held onto his shoulders for support, her eyes half closed. He dragged his hand up her body, caressing her stomach lightly, feeling muscles twitch and contract before sliding up to under her breasts, thumbs brushing her nipples. And then both hands reached in back and undid her bra.

Cameron slid the straps down her arms with a sultry look, watching his eyes trail down her naked skin as the bra fell to the floor.

"Get into bed." His voice was hoarse.

She obeyed, sitting up against the headboard, watching him as he stripped. He hesitated over his pants but removed them and faced her, shielding against any pity over the damaged thigh.

Cameron licked her lips. Need and want radiated from her in waves.

His eyes met hers. "Lie down."

House leaned over to lick her stomach while getting onto the bed, gripping her hips firmly. He held her pinned as he looked down to the scrap of lace still covering his prize and nosed it, breathing warm over the spot. He was gratified at her gasp.

House pulled the panties down and off and immediately spread her legs to lick between them. Her moans made him harder and he exercised tight control over his instinct to simply fuck her there and then. Whether this was going to end badly or not, _this_ was going to be very good. He'd ensure it.

Cameron dropped her head back on the pillow and gave herself over to the pleasure of having House's mouth and fingers move expertly on her. He had graceful, clever hands that knew where to touch, how to stroke, how to build pressure that was delicious. And a hot, wet tongue that teased and tormented. Her hips began moving as he fucked her with his mouth and fingers and finally she came, rigid in that moment of oblivion.

When she finally opened her eyes it was to see him grinning with self-satisfaction and lust. Cameron rolled onto her side and reached down to caress him.

His hand intercepted hers. "Do that and we'll be over in about five seconds," he warned.

"Mmm, don't want that." Cameron dipped into the drawer of his night table and pulled out a square foil, ripping it neatly with her fingers and pulling out the contents. She blew into the condom until it puffed out and mischievously stuck her tongue into it, enjoying the sight of House's eyes widening. She delicately rolled it onto him and he swelled satisfyingly long and thick as she moved it down with teeth and tongue and the warm pull of her mouth.

When she finally sat back, sweat covered House's forehead. "Now it's my turn again," he gritted out. His fingers traced her nipples lightly before he sucked and massaged one, then the other. He licked his way up to her throat, baring her neck, holding her hair back in a firm grip. Cameron panted, waiting for him to suck her neck hard, ready to arch into that warm suction and revel in the bruise that would mark her as his.

He didn't. His eyes spoke clearly.

_You're not mine yet._

Cameron closed her eyes against that knowledge and pressed her lips to his, grateful that he immediately invaded her mouth, thrusting hard with his tongue. She straddled him as they tasted each other and finally slipped onto his cock in a fluid move. Cameron rode him hard as he thrust up to meet her each time. He could barely hold on to slip his hand between their bodies and bring her to another orgasm before he clenched and rode out the high.

They collapsed, breathing hard, sweat shining over their bodies. His hand stroked down her back languidly and then they disentangled and lay there in silence.

It was later, still in silence, when Cameron rose, dressed, and left.

x – x – x

The case was over. The savant was on his way to whatever normal life he could carve out for himself. And everyone now knew about House's own mad scheme. He wasn't dying. He was just a self-serving ass.

Walking past that restaurant and seeing his ducklings seated together made his stomach clench. It had been the hardest thing in the world for him to walk inside and face his trio. But he did, and as uneasy and uncomfortable as they were with each other, there was a silent acknowledgment of acceptance. House knew they'd forgive him eventually. Cameron's avoidance as they ate was expected and he finally pushed up from the table, dropped enough bills to cover the tab, and left before the others had recovered from the shock of it.

And now, he was home. Emptiness filled his body. It was rest after labor, and he had yet to process the whole of all his plotting. Yet overriding that was the experience of Cameron balancing the scales as she saw fit. He rested his head against the back of the couch and felt both satisfied and bereft. She was right—and he didn't have a clue where that now left them.

The knock on the door surprised him. House looked through the peephole and opened the door, unsure how the next scene would play out. "What are you doing here?"

Cameron pushed past him. "Don't be a bigger ass than you can help." She looked over her shoulder. "Well? Shut the door!"

Grinning, he closed and locked it and walked to where she waited. When he stepped in close, she murmured, "I'm tired. Let's go to bed."

He turned off the lights, following her into the bedroom as if they had done this for years, a normal routine after a simple dinner out. He paused. "Chase?"

"Over and done."

"So.…"

She pulled back the blanket and began stripping. "I've been thinking about that blood sample, House." She smiled as she kicked off her shoes and removed her bra. "You didn't need to take a blood sample from yourself if you were using the patient's. And you didn't need to hand over the sample in front of Foreman. Clues. You were leaving clues despite all your protestations that you didn't want anyone to know." She stood naked before him and watched with satisfaction as his eyes glazed over. "You wanted to know if we cared enough to try to figure it out." She crawled under the blanket and held it up invitingly. "Can we go to sleep now?"

"Y-yeah." He turned his head away and undressed, puzzled and unsure at this new Cameron. He slid next to her and his arm automatically went around her as she nuzzled his chest.

She looked up into his eyes. "We're even."

His arm tightened briefly. "Yes, we are."


End file.
